Please see the below Flash Report #4 as provided by the Management team for Alignvest Student Housing.
We are thrilled to highlight our Insurance Team and introduce a new section of our blog to partner with our investment updates. Our inhouse Insurance experts have over 100 years of combined experience in the business. We will be updating periodically with articles and information we believe is important to our clients.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. In response, we immediately paused on the multiple acquisitions we were working on and shifted our focus to mitigate the impact of the pandemic to our employees and tenants, and to ASH REIT’s broader business. We are pleased to report that we are on track to collect approximately 95% of April rents, and expect similar outcomes over the summer months.
Recently, the Canadian universities began announcing their plans for September 2020; we have provided an update on what we know and are shifting our operating focus to respond to an expected primarily online environment for the Fall term.
Amidst this uncertainty, we are starting to see some attractive opportunities emerge. With operations largely stabilized, we expect to resume our focus on completing accretive transactions over the coming months and we believe that there will be an opportunity to transact at attractive valuations.
Below is the link to our Management Report. In addition, we will be hosting a conference call to discuss our performance and outlook on Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 2:00 PM EDT – please register for the call using the link below.
Please let us know if you have any questions. Stay safe and take care
Management Report
We are pleased to highlight the first quarter 2020 report for Alignvest Strategic Partners Fund. The Q1 update discusses performance over the past quarter and their thoughts going forward. As referenced, the estimate for April 2020 performance is 5.3% bringing the year-to-date performance of the Fund to -8.6%.
Additional information on the Alignvest Strategic Partners Fund can also be found on their website.
Q1 2020 ASPF Report
We are pleased to announce that Nancy Lockhart has been appointed as a Trustee of Alignvest Student Housing REIT, effective immediately.
Ms. Lockhart is a director of George Weston Limited, Choice Properties REIT and Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation. Previously, Ms. Lockhart was the Chair of Gluskin Sheff + Associates, Inc., and a director of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, Retirement Residence REIT and Barrick Gold Corporation. Additionally, Ms. Lockhart was formerly the Chief Administrative Officer of Frum Development Group and a Vice President of Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation. Currently, she is the Chair Emeritus of Crow’s Theatre Company and Director of The Royal Conservatory of Music, and was previously Chair of the Ontario Science Centre, President of the Canadian Club of Toronto, Chair of the Canadian Film Centre, Director of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation and Director of The Canada Merit Scholarship Foundation. Ms. Lockhart was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2006.
Flash Report #3
Please find below the most recent update on Alignvest Student Housing. Management wanted to share the latest numbers regarding the lease up for the 2020/2021 school year and the collection of April rents. In summary, we are ahead of where we were last year with respect to leasing for the upcoming school year. Our properties are proving to be highly desirable and some of the feedback received has been that higher quality properties are even more in favour during these times of uncertainty. With respect to April rents, we are tracking to get over 97% of rent cheques. Although lower than usual, it is still far above any amount that would have management concerned about cash flow.
Please see the below update from Adventus’ management team. As you will see, they are taking a prudent and conservative approach throughout these unprecedented times and we commend them for doing so. We will continue to engage with management to better understand the challenges they are facing as the COVID-19 situation continues to unfold. We will keep you informed as additional information is provided.
Please see below:
Please see the annual report from Management that includes audited 2019 financial statements. The section in the report entitled “2019 Year In Review” does a good job highlighting the success we have had during the year.
COVID-19 is obviously top of mind for everyone these days including students, universities and property owners. Management has done a good job highlighting our efforts thus far in planning for COVID-19. Our staff and students are our number one priority. This is outlined in the two sections, “Our Response to COVID-19” and “FAQ on COVID-19”. We want to ensure investors that the REIT is well positioned to withstand a prolonged disruption if necessary. We currently have 4 years of expenses in cash on our balance sheet. This $50+ million of cash provides us tremendous stability and we are taking measures to tighten up our operations to ensure we continue to be financially prudent. We are working closely with the universities to better understand their perspectives and strategies for the 2020/2021 school year.
We are the largest player in the Canadian student housing space and our balance sheet will ensure we exit the COVID-19 pandemic in a favourable position.
Below are links to our 2019 Annual Management Report and Financial Statements.
2019 Annual Management Report
Our Response to COVID-19
FAQ on COVID19
March 17, 2020
We are carefully monitoring the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We must take appropriate actions to limit the impact of the virus on our community, particularly by focusing on the safety of our clients, employees and their families.
We have instituted our business continuity plan with a view to proactively anticipate and respond to any potential for business interruption, including restricted business travel, work from home protocols where appropriate, and encouraging the use of video and teleconference for interactions. We are also implementing social distancing measures that will also help reduce the spread of infectious diseases, such as reducing face to face meetings and ensuring our employees can work from home as required so we have a healthy workforce able to maintain our high standard of service. The same applies to our operational specialists who maintain the integrity of our systems and processes. Equally important, we maintain strong safeguards on information and identity.
We want to ensure that there are no interruptions or delays in contacting any of our MFG team members. Please find below our mobile #’s:
Trade instructions will not be accepted via email or text, therefore please ensure you contact us by phone to verbally confirm your order.
Should there be further developments with COVID-19 that prevent access to our physical premises or disruptions with mail delivery by Canada Post, courier or messenger services, this may impact our ability to receive physical cheques. As a reminder, you can set up an “electronic bill payments” with your applicable banking institution should you wish to make an online deposit.
While the COVID-19 situation is ongoing, we are increasingly aware of its impact on both the global and local markets in which our clients operate. Our efforts will ensure that we are able to provide the highest level of client service while positioning ourselves to take advantage of the market opportunities that lie ahead.
We wish you all health and safety throughout the coming weeks.
In summary, this is welcome news as these are two very positive step for Adventus and the unitholders.
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